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Re: Foundry/ Fleet Mark Reward Changes

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  • thebumblethebumble Member Posts: 2
    edited February 2013
    zachverant wrote: »
    How many "last nail" threads have there been in 3yrs...just wondering...:rolleyes:

    Assimilation..does a body good...:P

    Probably enough to nail a coffin shut..XD
  • supremeheretic36supremeheretic36 Member Posts: 54 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    This may not be a "last nail" but it certainly will be very negative for the game. It's enough to slow the momentum it had recently built down. Word of mouth is a strong thing.
    Lifetime subber and former STO player from when it didn't suck.

    Fed: Astarsha, level 60 tactical officer

    KDF: K'tana level 54 tactical officer
  • rossrobertsonrossrobertson Member Posts: 22 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    From someone who generally just plays the game, gets on with things and doesn't post on the forums much....

    This is a change for the worst. Bad move Cryptic.

    If I want a long story driven mission then I'll play a long story mission. If I want 15 mins of pew pew, then I'll play a 15 mins of pew pew mission. It used to be fine as I knew I was earning the same Dilithium and Fleet Marks to go towards our small fleet starbase, whatever. Now... well, its yet more player choice and freedoms gone.

    This game is slowly turning into one giant grind, with players being herded towards doing what PWE/Cryptic thinks they should do, not what the players themselves want to do.

    I don't know about you but I am coming close to quitting for good. I've sunk good money into this game, adapting to the changes and endless nerfs as best I could but this could very well be the straw that breaks the camels back... I've got a life and I don't need yet another grind to do.

    Just like the new JJ trek movies could be any modern action sci fi, Star Trek Online is fast becoming just another grindfest MMO that just happens to have the Trek licence. Sad. Considering where this game could go.

    Hopefully the devs will reverse this change in light of the opposition. What happened to "give players what they want"?
  • crusader2007crusader2007 Member Posts: 1,883 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Well I guess I'm done with the foundry. It was my primary source of fleet marks, same with my fleetmates.

    It's just beyond sad that a certain element with a complex had to go ruin things for everyone else. I'm done with the story missions too as the only thing I can do now is grind out fleet events for marks.

    This wouldn't be nearly as horrible if fleet marks were left attached as a reward, or even an option for reward.

    For those who don't know about the Foundry wars...the few elite authors had won in favor of the so called grinders (rest of us). Not trying to be out of line but stating a fact.

    Here is how it started:

    http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=523741

    A few authors displeased by not getting "good reviews" instigated PWE Devs to make changes to the Foundry. They used every social tool available at their disposal to make their point known to them. The few were heard and Devs fix the passive NPCs to become "active" ensuring hundreds of players to be displeased with the changes:

    http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=537351


    And of course fleet marks was yet another side product of the reorganization of the Foundry started by a few who were displeased for not getting "good" reviews instead seeing how "grinder" authors were actually a lot more popular.

    Look at those two threads for your own conclusions but IMO it is a sad day in which the few who complained finally ruined the Foundry for the rest of us.
    Knowledge is power and up to us to use the same tools the few used to cram it to the Devs (twitts, facebook, tickets) about what we feel what the foundry should be...not only to get some great stories but to fit the needs for the majority and grind as much as we want...Both could have coexisted together but the grinders so far have lost the battle :rolleyes:
    DUwNP.gif

  • hanoverhanover Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    What happened to "give players what they want"?

    It has slowly morphed into "Decide for them what they want, and force them to play it the 'right' way."

    :rolleyes:
    Does Arc install a root kit? Ask a Dev today!
  • spyralpegacyonspyralpegacyon Member Posts: 408 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Ah yes, the age-old debate of farmers versus writers. Eventually we'll come to some sort of amicable solution. Maybe. In the meantime...

    1.) Writers: "All our awesome stories are getting buried by 'get lewtz quick' farms! This sucks!"
    2.) Bran: "Hey Dan, our Foundry writers are upset about Fleet Marks."
    3.) DStahl checks his metrics. "By Riker's Beard, they're farming Fleet Marks too fast! RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"
    4.) Kraken eats Foundry FM rewards.
    5.) Farmers: "All our awesome FM rewards were taken away by elitist authors and their eleventy billion word missions! This sucks!"
    6.) A week or two later, DStahl re-checks his metrics and rebalances FMs as needed.
    7.) Everyone finds something else to yell 'this sucks' over.

    All this sturm und drang and everybody saw the same thing happen with Season 7. Cryptic brings out the nerf sledgehammer first, then balances again afterwards.
    tumblr_n1hmq4Xl7S1rzu2xzo2_400.gif
  • helixsunbringerhelixsunbringer Member Posts: 249 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    General:
    • The Foundry daily missions have been replaced.
    • The existing daily missions have been removed.

    Not to be a sourpuss, but does the second part of that quote mean that ALL Daily Missions have been removed... or just the ones relating to the Foundry. Because if all Daily Missions have been removed, then what are we supposed to do for Dilithium in general now? Not to mention all the other things that Daily Missions provided us with? I assume since the second part is bulleted under the Foundry Missions have been replaced that it only refers to Foundry Daily Missions, but it is awfully confusing...
  • drudgydrudgy Member Posts: 367 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Personally I'm ok with this change. The Foundry wasn't really a Fleet event type system anyway and it always seemed stupid to reward Fleet Marks for doing them. The Foundry should really be used for leveling, and telling a story so awarding Dilithium and XP is a good choice.

    Now I can agree to some extent that losing the large amount of Fleet Marks does hurt, but I think Cryptic can easily offset this by adding more fleet events, or perhaps attaching a daily to say the NWS to reach a random level to gain the marks. I don't know, but easy enough for them to fix.
    f3wrLS.jpg
  • olivia211olivia211 Member Posts: 675 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    noone will start playing your stupid missions just because the others give less rewards. we will find other sources to get easy rewards. afking stfs maybe. are you happy now?

    I was thinking the same thing. If the AFKers were bad before, I can only imagine what they will look like now. I sure as heck won't be doing any fleet actions or foundry missions for some time. I guess the only reason to logon now is to renew assignments and BS in ESD chat. I was really starting to love some of the foundry missions...and no, I did not do just clickers. Anyone who has spoken to me knows I love ground combat and some of the gauntlet-type ground missions were so fun. I got to blast away bad guys while getting FMs and some dil. I was very content with that. I never went afk while my BOffs did all the work. I really did like those missions.

    As many have said before, some of the very long, story driven missions are mediocre at best. There was one that was alright, but I have to admit most are pretty bad. Not even the story so much, but the proofreading is almost nonexistent in some. I'm an editor and part time ghost writer and I have to say, many of these missions I would not support being published. The idea may be alright, but the stories need major work and a second set of eyes in most cases.

    I'm like many of the other people here on this thread. If I want a story and to read, I'll pick up a book. When I am on the game I want to go in and get shooting. I liked planning out battle strategies for my ground missions and loved figuring out a better way to plan an attack. The reward of the fleet marks was all the more reason to do it. But if I'm no longer getting any marks out of it, the time and effort feels wasted. I'm like other people who have literally hundreds of dilithium claims so I am good on dil for months. What I wanted from the foundry was a way to earn fleet marks while discovering some fun and interesting missions that didn't take an hour to do.

    I know it's just a game, but I actually feel very sad. I have this feeling of "what am I gonna do now?" Guess I can get more work done as there is less reason to spend time in game. This is not an "I quit!" statement. Those are ridiculous. It's simply a statement letting Cryptic know they have really let me down.
    No, I am not who you think I am. I am someone different. I am instead a banana.
  • martakurillmartakurill Member Posts: 456 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    So after grinding and grinding those same fleet mark missions, I just recently turned to the foundry as a source of fleet marks. I'd pick a 20min to 1hr mission that looked interesting, dive in, and explore a "strange new world." It was fun, AND I got rewarded for that fun.

    And now they completely strip fleet marks from the foundry? So now I have to choose between fun with no real reward or reward with no real fun. That's just great. :rolleyes:

    And honestly, what would've been the harm in keeping around a 50 fleet mark DAILY foundry mission, instead of a 15 min repeatable? It would stop people from getting too many fleet marks this way while still providing a real incentive to take a chance on a new mission. Why can't we at least have this?

    EDIT: After just seeing the above post, I want to add that this isn't an "I quit" post either. I echo the same sentiment that I'm feeling really let down with this change.
  • lordagamemnonb5lordagamemnonb5 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Perfect World Entertainment Community Rules and Policies . ~Bluegeek
    How the Devs see Star Trek, apparently:
    Star Trek: The Original Grind
    Star Trek: The Next Grind
    Star Trek: Deep Space Grind
    Star Trek: Voyage to the Grind
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,236 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Ah yes, the age-old debate of farmers versus writers. Eventually we'll come to some sort of amicable solution. Maybe. In the meantime...

    1.) Writers: "All our awesome stories are getting buried by 'get lewtz quick' farms! This sucks!"
    2.) Bran: "Hey Dan, our Foundry writers are upset about Fleet Marks."
    3.) DStahl checks his metrics. "By Riker's Beard, they're farming Fleet Marks too fast! RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"
    4.) Kraken eats Foundry FM rewards.
    5.) Farmers: "All our awesome FM rewards were taken away by elitist authors and their eleventy billion word missions! This sucks!"
    6.) A week or two later, DStahl re-checks his metrics and rebalances FMs as needed.
    7.) Everyone finds something else to yell 'this sucks' over.

    All this sturm und drang and everybody saw the same thing happen with Season 7. Cryptic brings out the nerf sledgehammer first, then balances again afterwards.
    Enh.... I agree in spirit, but... I think #1 and 2 are incorrect. :D

    You're totally right though, I've been around long enough to have seen this pattern of nerdrage repeat several times.
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,236 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Perfect World Entertainment Community Rules and Policies . ~Bluegeek

    BS.... more like the devs finally came up with a plan to kill grinders once and for all. :D

    Seriously... it's not the Authors who decided that Foundry should be used to tell stories. Cryptic did. We just do things the way Cryptic set it up.
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • neoakiraiineoakiraii Member Posts: 7,468 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Riiiiiiight...foundry authors did it yeah they open thread after thread, and Cryptic was like Oh man those guys are angry we will make them happy.

    Yeah if opening threads everyday on the same topic over and over again worked....then PVP would be great, and we would have Cruisers that can blow up planets , and Escorts would be nerfed to the point they would blow up with a sneeze.

    and don't get me Started on the Klingons
    GwaoHAD.png
  • lordagamemnonb5lordagamemnonb5 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    The top rated missions were grinder friendly, and god forbid we spend our free time the way we want to.

    This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Perfect World Entertainment Community Rules and Policies . ~Bluegeek
    How the Devs see Star Trek, apparently:
    Star Trek: The Original Grind
    Star Trek: The Next Grind
    Star Trek: Deep Space Grind
    Star Trek: Voyage to the Grind
  • bluegeekbluegeek Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Off-Topic...

    Changes to the game are Cryptic's decision. No small group of players has any real control over what they decide.

    Continuing to blame a "Foundry Few" for what Cryptic has done is not productive and it's frankly a form of Flaming/Trolling which is against the rules.

    Please focus your feedback on the game itself. If you don't like the changes, say so. If you have a suggestion, say so.

    But please leave other players and forum users and their motivations out of it.

    ~Bluegeek
    My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here
    Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
  • kevaldtkevaldt Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    So, you have removed the one way to get a DECENT amount of fleet marks, and to think I was considering buying a lifetime.

    Shame on you, the fleet events suck as far as mark output goes.
    [SIGPIC]InGame - @Darth_Tauri[/SIGPIC]
    Joined - 9/2011
    "You Best Make Peace With Your Dear & Fluffy Lord" - Malcolm Reynolds
  • carcharodon1975carcharodon1975 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    So Mr. Stahl,here we are again,you forget once again that a game is supposed to be fun.You do know the meaning of the word 'fun' right?
    The PWE/Cryptic sweatshop...not where the game is made,but where the game is played!

    Take back your home,end the grind!


    Volunteer moderators policing the forums is like a mall cop trying to solve a murder.
  • smoketh2smoketh2 Member Posts: 38 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Ok I don't like the changes, not that my opinion will matter anyway.

    But I think the real frustrating point has been missed. There were never enough ways to earn fleet marks in this game. The devs sort of acknowledged that fact by allowing 50 fleet marks to be rewarded for completing a foundry mission.

    This could have been a good stop-gap measure while new content was added for fleet marks or while they increased the amount of fleet marks rewarded for missions like Fleet alert. Instead they choose to remove the fleet mark source altogether.

    Anyone who has ran those select PVE queue missions for fleet marks will tell you they get stale and I MEAN FAST. Its even more annoying when you get players who are a very low level or go afk and just leech off other peoples efforts.

    The foundry was an excellent way of getting fleet marks while being able to do a new mission every time to keep it fun.

    We have now gone back to the relentless grind with no variety,

    Thanks!

    My 2 cents.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • edited February 2013
    This content has been removed.
  • tinead51tinead51 Member Posts: 449 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    bluegeek wrote: »
    Off-Topic...

    Changes to the game are Cryptic's decision. No small group of players has any real control over what they decide.

    Continuing to blame a "Foundry Few" for what Cryptic has done is not productive and it's frankly a form of Flaming/Trolling which is against the rules.

    Please focus your feedback on the game itself. If you don't like the changes, say so. If you have a suggestion, say so.

    But please leave other players and forum users and their motivations out of it.

    ~Bluegeek

    Touched a nerve have we? :o
  • syberghostsyberghost Member Posts: 1,711 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    So Mr. Stahl,here we are again,you forget once again that a game is supposed to be fun.You do know the meaning of the word 'fun' right?

    fun (noun): Massive reward for no risk.

    Folks are complaining they can't get Fleet Marks for making AFK grinders in the Foundry anymore, so instead they'll go AFK in other grinders.

    Clearly this will shut the game down tomorrow. :rolleyes:
    Former moderator of these forums. Lifetime sub since before launch. Been here since before public betas. Foundry author of "Franklin Drake Must Die".
  • spyralpegacyonspyralpegacyon Member Posts: 408 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    I just love the way that suddenly everyone was considering buying a LTS just as an undesirable change happens... Sure a few might have been. YOU might have been. But I think most of the people who throw out the "I certainly am not buying a LTS now!" line probably never would have bought one anyway, and are just looking to make Cryptic think they are losing out on more money than they actually are.

    Entirely relevant to these sorts of threads.
    tumblr_n1hmq4Xl7S1rzu2xzo2_400.gif
  • thestargazethestargaze Member Posts: 1,020 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    olivia211 wrote: »
    I was thinking the same thing. If the AFKers were bad before, I can only imagine what they will look like now. I sure as heck won't be doing any fleet actions or foundry missions for some time. I guess the only reason to logon now is to renew assignments and BS in ESD chat. I was really starting to love some of the foundry missions...and no, I did not do just clickers. Anyone who has spoken to me knows I love ground combat and some of the gauntlet-type ground missions were so fun. I got to blast away bad guys while getting FMs and some dil. I was very content with that. I never went afk while my BOffs did all the work. I really did like those missions.

    As many have said before, some of the very long, story driven missions are mediocre at best. There was one that was alright, but I have to admit most are pretty bad. Not even the story so much, but the proofreading is almost nonexistent in some. I'm an editor and part time ghost writer and I have to say, many of these missions I would not support being published. The idea may be alright, but the stories need major work and a second set of eyes in most cases.

    I'm like many of the other people here on this thread. If I want a story and to read, I'll pick up a book. When I am on the game I want to go in and get shooting. I liked planning out battle strategies for my ground missions and loved figuring out a better way to plan an attack. The reward of the fleet marks was all the more reason to do it. But if I'm no longer getting any marks out of it, the time and effort feels wasted. I'm like other people who have literally hundreds of dilithium claims so I am good on dil for months. What I wanted from the foundry was a way to earn fleet marks while discovering some fun and interesting missions that didn't take an hour to do.

    I know it's just a game, but I actually feel very sad. I have this feeling of "what am I gonna do now?" Guess I can get more work done as there is less reason to spend time in game. This is not an "I quit!" statement. Those are ridiculous. It's simply a statement letting Cryptic know they have really let me down.

    I am the same, I love ground as well. I rather do ground over space anytime.

    The only way they are going stop abuse of the foundary with clickies and loot are that they control what material is "qualified" enough to be listed as a foundary. They need foundary reviewers.

    I would rather have quality content on the foundary then nonsense. Yes, that might be many unhappy faces with this.. as I see it. Its the only way to do it than this nonsense.

    That would mean you could not publish a foundary directly but would have to go through a screening. And I would like to see a foundary that is divided up in different categories for easier access. Search is not good enough. I category would help writers have their stories in the spotlight.

    I would be OK with have some special loot for foundary in spotlight,...but don't nerf the others because of that.
  • lordagamemnonb5lordagamemnonb5 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    neoakiraii wrote: »
    Riiiiiiight...foundry authors did it yeah they open thread after thread, and Cryptic was like Oh man those guys are angry we will make them happy.

    Yeah if opening threads everyday on the same topic over and over again worked....then PVP would be great, and we would have Cruisers that can blow up planets , and Escorts would be nerfed to the point they would blow up with a sneeze.

    and don't get me Started on the Klingons

    Making changes that would effect gameplay balance is a far cry from making people play content they don't want to. Far easier to just nerf rewards than manage a faction.
    bluegeek wrote: »
    Off-Topic...

    Changes to the game are Cryptic's decision. No small group of players has any real control over what they decide.


    With all do respect, people only believe in coincidences up to a point.

    A link to a thread was posted in this topic showing a lot of authors upset of the lack of rating they were getting in favor of grinding missions for FM, and less than a month later FM are removed. And a similiar event happened before the previous Foundry nerf.

    Perception is Reality in this case. Crpytic may not let a few make there decisions, but they sure are more open to the demands of a few that may happen to share Cryptic's views on the future, rather than try to have a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy.
    How the Devs see Star Trek, apparently:
    Star Trek: The Original Grind
    Star Trek: The Next Grind
    Star Trek: Deep Space Grind
    Star Trek: Voyage to the Grind
  • djconcentusdjconcentus Member Posts: 177 Media Corps
    edited February 2013
    syberghost wrote: »
    fun (noun): Massive reward for no risk.

    Folks are complaining they can't get Fleet Marks for making AFK grinders in the Foundry anymore, so instead they'll go AFK in other grinders.

    Clearly this will shut the game down tomorrow. :rolleyes:

    I'll agree that the AFK Grinders have got to go (or be nerfed), but what about those of us that used the missions that actually require you to do things to get your flarks via the foundry? I'm stuck going back to using commendation XP as my primary source of flarks because the public queues are a crapshoot, and its not worth spending the time to get 17 flarks per 30 minutes.
    The opinions expressed in my posts are not necessarily those of my employer or Subspace Radio.
    Host of the Borg Boombox, 0300 GMT on Fridays on Subspace Radio
  • burstorionburstorion Member Posts: 1,750 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    Repat after me ..grind is good..grind is great...we are all just cogs in the machine...

    ...the way Sto is going, we might as well all be flying borg ships,aimlessly flying about with no weapons as borg drones while certain others order us about from activity to activity on the hour, every hour, reaping plaudits produced automatically with no thought as we've been told its good...

    Welcome to sto:1984 edition :P
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,236 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    The top rated missions were grinder friendly, and god forbid we spend our free time the way we want to.

    This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Perfect World Entertainment Community Rules and Policies . ~Bluegeek
    Lol.... I created my first Foundry mission before Season 4.



    This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Perfect World Entertainment Community Rules and Policies . ~Bluegeek
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • trellabortrellabor Member Posts: 209 Arc User
    edited February 2013
    drudgy wrote: »
    Personally I'm ok with this change. The Foundry wasn't really a Fleet event type system anyway and it always seemed stupid to reward Fleet Marks for doing them. The Foundry should really be used for leveling, and telling a story so awarding Dilithium and XP is a good choice.

    Now I can agree to some extent that losing the large amount of Fleet Marks does hurt, but I think Cryptic can easily offset this by adding more fleet events, or perhaps attaching a daily to say the NWS to reach a random level to gain the marks. I don't know, but easy enough for them to fix.

    To me, The Foundry is not for leveling, it's for end game content where Cryptic falls flat on it's face. Leveling in the beginnings can be done via the Episodes/Instance Queue, and once you reach the appropriate level STF's and then New Romulus. IMO, the Foundry is for when you've exhausted all your other 'content' avenues or when you'd just like to take a break and experience some new things/stories/blow stuff up fast/whatever, because there are many options there. So, for end game players who have reached this point the Fleet Mark bonus with the DIL and EC drops was a really nice complete way to hit all the main points of 'missioning' in general while playing out some 'new content' as it were.

    To your second point - this would mean Cryptic will actually have to do something - work. They manage to avoid this for the most part by playing shuffle board with mission rewards, random nerfs, strange events(XP boost for max level players?), and generally taking an OCD approach to the game. Continuously making mistakes means you are continuously having to go back and repair them, which in this case just means make more mistakes then just retract a little bit, rinse and repeat. I've seen 3 things that I can quantify as 'new content' from Cryptic since I came back right before S7 launched;

    1. New Romulus
    2. Winter Event
    3. Temporal Ambassador feature Episode

    Everything else can fall under the 'nonsensical changes' moniker while they endlessly **** with things for no good reason. A truly ingenious way to avoid doing real work.
    ____
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    The o3 - Killed you good
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